The health benefits of moderate sun exposure may outweigh the associated skin cancer risks for people who are deficient in Vitamin D, especially those who live in colder northern latitudes, according to a study released this week.

The study found that Vitamin D levels, which were calculated based on sun exposure, correlated with better survival rates for cancer victims.

People in sunnier, southern latitudes, with higher estimated Vitamin D levels, were significantly less likely to die from their malignancies than people in northern latitudes, according to the paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.